The present invention relates to spindle sleeves and, more particularly, to a reusable and flexible spindle sleeve which is mounted upon a drive spindle and rotatable therewith. The roller sleeve is flexible such that it may accept a winding of material thereon when positioned on the spindle, and be removable from the spindle with the full roll of material wound thereon at which point it collapses upon itself whereupon it may be easily and quickly removed from the center opening of the roll.
In the label producing art, labels are typically cut from a continuous web of base material which has been wound into a roll. The roll is mounted upon a first spindle from which it is reeled and subjected to the label printing and cutting operations. As the labels are cut from the web of base material, a web of waste material (or "waste matrix", as it is referred to in the art) is created which is directed to a second spindle which winds it into a roll for easy disposal thereof. It is common practice in the art to use cardboard sleeves to serve as the core member for the roll of waste material. The cardboard sleeve is thus mounted upon the second spindle with the leading edge of the web of waste material attached thereto. As the second spindle rotates, the web of waste material winds itself upon the cardboard sleeve. Once fully wound, the roll of the waste material together with the cardboard sleeve is removed from the spindle. Since the cardboard sleeve is hence firmly secured within the core of the roll, the sleeve is discarded along with the roll which increases the amount of waste requiring disposal.